None too gently, Lauren dragged Bo through the door of the first room they reached. Using more self-control, than she ever thought she possessed, she resisted the urge to slam the door, instead closing it quietly behind them, dimming the music and chatter of the party.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" Lauren snapped furiously. What was Bo thinking coming here? Oh, of course, she wasn't thinking. She was just doing whatever the hell she wanted, like always.

"I just- I needed to see you." Bo took a step back, trying to put some distance between herself and a fuming Lauren.

"And you chose to show up here and embarrass me. Are you kidding me!? Here, of all places!?" Lauren took a step forward, not sure if she wanted to slap Bo or kiss her. Torn, she threw up her hands in frustration, "Why the hell couldn't you just lurk outside my house like a normal crazy stalker?"

It was Bo's turn to be frustrated, what had Lauren expected? She was not the kind of person who was going to sit back and do nothing, and if Lauren had asked for a break to shake things up between them, well mission accomplished. "What am I supposed to do? For fucks sake, I wanted to talk with you and you- you won't even answer my texts. I didn't know what else to do! Gahhh, you are so frustrating!"

"No, Bo! You know who's frustrating? You are! I told you I need space but you have been calling me nonstop for weeks! That's not exactly 'space'. What is it you don't understand!?" She turned away from her lover, trying to rein in her emotions. It wasn't fucking working, she was too furious.

"Shit! I knew this would be a bad idea." Bo silently damned Kenzi, she should have known better than listen to her.

"Then why are you here?" Lauren demanded as she turned back towards Bo. "Oh, don't tell me, this was Kenzi's idea!?"

"Well... uh, yeah, sort of." Bo didn't want to throw Kenzi under the bus, but Kenzi wasn't here right now and Lauren was scary angry. Coming to this event had been monumentally stupid on her part, but what else was she supposed to do? Bo feared if she waited much longer, she would lose Lauren forever and she could not let that happen.

"Of course," Lauren sighed, she was hardly surprised; this entire scheme reeked of their little tandem. "I should have known. Even you wouldn't have been this thoughtless on your own."

"She was just trying to help! I was kind of desperate." Bo was losing any composure she had. Lauren had a lot of nerve getting down on her and Kenzi, looking all primped and perfect in her eight thousand dollar dress. Who the fuck did she think she was? "What the fuck is this thing anyway? Who are all these people? And who the fuck was that woman you were all up on!?"

"Dammit Bo, are you serious right now?" Lauren couldn't believe it, but Bo's look said she was exactly that. "You should know what this is," she motioned to Bo's waitress ensemble, "you're supposed to be working here aren't you? These are my parents and some of their friends and associates."

"Your parents, sure, what do you take me for?" Bo was pissed that she didn't know Lauren had this whole other life.

"Yes, my parents!" Lauren hissed, "Do you think I'm making this up?"

"That doesn't answer my question; who was that woman?" Whoever she was, Bo knew she had been more than casually interested in Lauren. Way, way more. That bitch's hand on Lauren's arm, she had just wanted to wipe that stuck-up smile off her face. She took a step towards Lauren, so they were face to face. "Well, you certainly looked like you were enjoying yourself. That woman was all over you. Who is she, some slug aficionado?"

"Wow – You're jealous?" Had Bo gone insane? How many times had Lauren caught her flirting or worse? "She's just somebody my mom introduced me to. I don't even remember her name." This was unbelievable and Bo had no right to even ask. "And why does it matter to you if she found me attractive? People are all over you all the time!"

"But that's... different!" Bo lacked words. Gods, this was infuriating! And dammit, why did Lauren have to be so hot? She could feel her eyes flash blue for a second. She blinked and backed away before she could get carried away, then changed the subject. "So, your parents, huh?" She scoffed, "Add them to the list of things you never told me about."

"What! What's that supposed to mean? It's hardly a secret that I have parents. I haven't talked with them in years, so there's nothing much to tell."

"You could have told me that! Or anything!" Bo sighed; she had always felt like Lauren held back, never offering any personal information freely. "So, what's the deal with them anyway, are they Rockefellers or something?" Even stuck in the back with the servants, Bo could practically smell the money in the room. It made her feel really uncomfortable and she hated that.

"No, not exactly." Lauren answered shortly and turned away, "Just old world money, new world industry." She really didn't want to discuss her parents with Bo. People always assumed certain things about her when they found out about her background and it annoyed her to no end. "And money isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"I guess I'll have to take your word on that."

"What about you, Bo? How much do you tell me about your past? Or your present for that matter?" She looked expectantly at Bo, but it was clear she wasn't going to get an answer. "No? I didn't think so."

Bo ignored Lauren's question, instead returning to her original point of contention, "No, of course I know you have parents and that's not really the point. You never let me in, it's like you ever only let me see the things you want me to see. You're so distant."

"I'm distant because you push me away! We never see each other Bo unless it's convenient for you!"

"I do not! I go out of my way to include you." Bo slammed her fist down on the table beside her, cracking it down the middle, "It's like you have changed or something, do you even trust me anymore?"

"Include me? Are you joking? You never include me unless you need my help. I never know what the hell you are doing, Bo! How do you want me to tell about myself when you're never there?" Lauren groaned; she'd be lucky to make it through the rest of this conversation without killing her girlfriend. "And if anyone has changed, it's you. I feel like I don't even know you anymore. You're always, I don't know, off doing your own thing."

"How can you say we don't spend enough time together when you are the one who asked for a fucking break? We haven't even seen each other in 6 fucking weeks!?" Bo was livid. This was total bullshit, Lauren was the one who cut them off and now she had the nerve to complain that they never see each other, what the fuck!?

"Yes, I know I asked for it. I'm talking about before the break." She looked at Bo as she suddenly realized what Bo had said, "What do you mean, I don't trust you?"

"Oh, the little detail about the girlfriend in a coma; why you are working for the Fae in the first place." She looked at Lauren accusingly, Bo knew it was wrong to dredge this up again, but she couldn't help herself. "I felt like such an idiot being blindsided by the Morrigan like that. I thought we had something, you and I, and then I find out the whole time you have a secret girlfriend!"

"We already talked about this!" Lauren could feel her anger rising to the surface once more, why was Bo bringing this up again? "We did have something. Or, I hoped we could be something more. I am sorry I didn't tell you about Nadia but it's not easy to tell something like that, okay? I didn't know how!"

"Why the fuck does everybody keep secrets from me?" Bo pushed the broken table away and began furiously pacing back and forth; this was just all too much. "Dyson! Trick! You! You all keep treating me like a child! Even after all this time. And please don't say it wasn't your secret to tell or it's for my own good or some bullshit like that."

"But it was for your own good! You would have run to the Ash threatening to cut his throat if he didn't let me out of the agreement. You had no clue about Fae politics Bo, and in some ways, you still don't."

"There you go again, not giving me credit! What did you think I was going to do, storm the Ash's compound and challenge him to a duel?"

"Yes, Bo I did think you would, and that's exactly what you did with Lachlan when you found out I recommitted to him!" Christ! Not giving her credit? Lauren gave Bo exactly the credit she deserved. Bo was the most stubborn, frustrating person she had ever met.

Bo stood there mouth agape as an awkward silence stretched out between them. How had Lauren found out about that? The memories of her sword fight with Lachlan washed over her, visions of her defending Lauren's honor and being her hero. She had believed that Lauren would've been so grateful that she would forget about Nadia and return to her with open arms. Sure, it hadn't gone exactly as planned, but still the effort was made. "Do you expect me to just sit around doing nothing? If I can help, I'm damn sure going to!"

Lauren sighed and counted to ten, they were arguing in circles and she was beyond over it, "I know you mean well Bo, but that is not always enough and nothing is ever as simple as you want it to be. Things aren't black and white."

"I just don't know what you want from me?"

"I want you to stop trying to be my hero, Bo. I'm not a damsel in distress. I just want you to be my girlfriend!"

"I am being your girlfriend!"

"Seriously, when was the last time we spent time together that didn't revolve around your latest case?" Lauren felt deflated, how was Bo so damn oblivious? "Every time we have a date, something comes up, and you run off with Dyson or Kenzi. You and I only get time together when you want sex or need something medical."

"But why didn't you tell me sooner!?"

"I did!" How could Bo claim to be her girlfriend when she never paid her any attention? "I tried! You didn't even notice because everything is always about you. There is always something you really want to do, some exciting case that takes priority over us!"

"I just don't know what this break is supposed to be. What do you even mean by 'space'? I just don't get it!"

"Yeah, I noticed." Lauren sighed. Maybe this break had been a bad idea, but she had been at the end of her rope. "When I asked for the break everything was just too much. It's not just about you, Bo. So many things have happened these last few years. Nadia. The Garuda. The Fae. You. I was falling apart and I needed space. Some time to think about myself instead of everybody else. I thought- you said you understood?"

"I want to understand." And Bo really did, she just didn't. How was being apart supposed to bring them together, it felt like such a farce. "You know how much you mean to me but – what do you want me to do? Shit keeps happening and somehow I always end up in the middle of it."

"And yet, the last 3 weeks you've managed to phone me a gazillion times! When we were together, you couldn't even call to cancel a date! How do you think that makes me feel?" Lauren knew this was really the crux of the problem; Bo only started acting like a girlfriend since the break. "You took me for granted, Bo. You only made me a priority after I put us on a break. If you had spent just a little bit of all this time and energy on us when we were together, we'd probably be fine!"

"So it's all my fault then?"

"That's not what I meant."

"What are you saying then?"

"I'm saying you need to figure out if you really want to be in this relationship with me or not?" Lauren needed to put all of her cards on the table, because as much as they may love each other, it was the end of the line for them. "You have to make me a priority and we have to communicate. I'm not a mind reader."

"What do you want Lauren? It's not just about me, is it? Do you think we should break up?" Bo felt cold, small, and defeated. This couldn't be the end for them, she couldn't lose Lauren.

"No!" Lauren was absolutely not ready to say goodbye to this woman, they had to try. They just had to. If Bo was willing to stop putting Lauren last, maybe it could work. Lauren took a step forward, wrapping Bo in her arms, "I love you, Bo. I want you. I want all those things you talked about the first time we kissed; the house, the kids, the picket fence, the normal life."

"I want those things too, Lauren, with you." Bo let the tears fall as Lauren embraced her. As much as this day had hurt, she knew they weren't done. "So what do we do now?"

"You figure out what you want and tell me."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Lauren pulled back and smiled, "Well that, and then we keep talking." She didn't know if that would be enough, she wanted it to be, but there were no guarantees. She hoped, and with the way she felt about Bo, it was worth another shot. "You have to know this won't be like it was before. I'm not going to settle for last, Bo."

"I know," Bo nodded as she wiped her eyes and smiled. She was determined; she would not fuck things up again. She loved Lauren to much for that. And looking into her brown eyes, the reality of what she could have lost hit her fully. Bo loved this woman like crazy, she should always be first. If she was being offered another chance, she was not going to squander it. Bo smirked as she let her eyes trace Lauren's body; she knew exactly what she wanted and was not going to waste another second, "I know what I want, Lauren."

"Oh and what is that?"